Health Vault

A press release from Social Security:

Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the agency has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of Microsoft’s HealthVault application in the disability process. HealthVault is a free online service that enables people to gather, store and manage their families’ health information, and share that information with their physicians and healthcare providers. These “personal health records” contain the same types of information that Social Security generally obtains from people applying for disability benefits.

“The use of personal health records holds great promise for ensuring that the medical information we collect from someone applying for disability benefits is accurate and complete,” Commissioner Astrue said. “Combined with other advancements in health information technology, our use of HealthVault should result in faster decisions for disability applicants. I look forward to working closely with Microsoft, a world-wide leader in information technology.”

Social Security and Microsoft are developing a technical prototype connecting the two organizations that will be available later this year. The agency also will collaborate with Microsoft to study current personal health record standards, gaps in those standards, and options for filling those gaps.

Social Security is a recognized leader in the use of health information technology. It is the first government agency to use the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), a safe and secure method for receiving instantaneous access to electronic medical records. The NHIN is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services and is supported by multiple government agencies and private sector entities.

Land Acquired For Building To Replace Metro West

From the Baltimore Sun:

The Maryland Board of Public Works approved on Wednesday a transfer to the federal government of state-owned land in Northwest Baltimore where U.S. officials plan to build an office building to house some Social Security Administration operations.

The new structure, which federal and state officials say is needed by 2012, is planned near the Reisterstown Road Plaza Metro station. It would be one of the largest and most expensive federal office buildings in Baltimore in years. About 1,600 federal workers now at the federal agency's Metro West complex on Greene Street would move there.

Federal officials are seeking a private developer to construct a 538,000-square-foot office building and 1,076-space garage and lease it to Social Security. ...

Eventually, another 400 Metro West employees will be relocated to the Social Security Administration's national headquarters complex in Woodlawn, leaving none at Metro West.

Stimulus Checks For Prisoners

The Associated Press is reporting that 3,900 of the $250 economic stimulus checks sent to Social Security and SSI recipients went to prisoners. About 2,200 of the inmates were entitled to the checks because they had only entered prison recently. The other 1,700 were sent checks by mistake.

This information comes from Social Security's Inspector General, but the underlying report has not yet been released. Apparently, the Boston Herald got the story first. The Inspector General seemed to be leaking stories like this to the Washington Times in the past.

Most Popular Baby Names

Social Security has released its list of most popular baby names for 2008. By the way, John is now number 20 on the list and Mary is number 97. That is a huge drop for those traditionally most popular names.

Top 10 Names for 2008

Rank	Male name	Female name
1	Jacob	Emma
2	Michael	Isabella
3	Ethan	Emily
4	Joshua	Madison
5	Daniel	Ava
6	Alexander	Olivia
7	Anthony	Sophia
8	William	Abigail
9	Christopher	Elizabeth
10	Matthew	Chloe

Many Applicants For Attorney Jobs At Social Security

The New York Times had an article yesterday on the tough job market for recent law school graduates which reported that applications for attorney positions at Social Security had gone up from 800 last year to 2,000 this year.

Ted Kennedy And Michael Astrue

Michael Astrue, the Commissioner of Social Security, like the late Ted Kennedy, is from Massachusetts. Astrue has some history with the late Ted Kennedy. Here is an excerpt from the Stromata blog for October 31, 2001:

Michael Astrue, a moderate Republican whom I know slightly, today withdrew his name from consideration as head of the Food and Drug Administration. He was known to be President Bush’s top choice for the position, but Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, announced that he would refuse to hold hearings on an the prospective nomination. Kennedy doesn’t accuse Astrue, a former general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services and current chairman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, of harboring abhorrent right-wing opinions. His “disqualification” is that he has worked for Biogen, and the Senator opposes allowing anyone with a background in the pharmaceutical industry to be in charge of the FDA.

Kennedy did support, or at least did not oppose, Astrue's nomination to be Social Security Commissioner (see pages 61 and 62). Kennedy's letter to the Senate Finance Committee was not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Feinstein Asks For Sanity

The Associated Press is reporting that California Senator Diane Feinstein has written Governor Schwarznegger asking that he cancel furloughs for state disability determination employees. All salaries and other costs for these employees are borne by Social Security. The governor claims that the furloughs will not affect public service. Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue is saying that the furloughs could postpone $15 million in federal payments.

Binder And Binder Offices

I always receive a ton of hits whenever I post anything about Binder and Binder, which is probably the largest entity representing Social Security disability claimants. Here is an interesting excerpt from a press release issued, apparently last year, by MGB, a construction company that did some work for Binder and Binder:

MGB served Binder & Binder, a social security disability law firm, as general contractor for a structural redevelopment, expansion, and a complete interior fit-out of the firm's 22,000 s/f, two-story office building at 34 Industrial St. The $3.3 million project encompassed the addition of a floor, including a floor slab, steel columns, and beams; construction of column foundations; exterior renovation; demolition of the pre-existing space; construction of new office interiors; and new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and sprinkler systems. The MGB team installed a new sewer ejector system that incorporates a pump and a ¼-mile pipe connection to the city sewer line.

Binder & Binder administrative offices, designed by UAI Urban Architectural Initiatives, encompass an open plan area, private offices, and a large employee cafeteria. The building features a new elevator and a staircase.